When the ‘Other’ Becomes the ‘Mother’: A Freudian Analysis of Jane Eyre

Jane’s oedipal complex never surfaces because her parents die before her complex could have formed and manifested itself and so she does not have a father to identify with and a mother to consider a threat. Even Aunt Reed cannot be seen as Jane’s oedipal rival because in that case too since Jane’s uncle is dead, she could not see her Aunt as a real threat in her desire to marry him, the only father figure she might have had had he been alive. However, there too we can see the beginning of the formation of her complex as although she hates her Aunt (which is also primarily because of the way her Aunt treats her) she assumes that her dead uncle would have been nice to her had he been alive and would not have let her Aunt treat her cruelly.

Jane’s interaction with Rochester however led to the development of her oedipal complex. Since Rochester is a lot older than she was, Jane is able to find in him a father figure, someone she could identify with and ‘marry’. This is corroborated by the fact that Rochester is compared to a relative at many times in the novel as Jane tells us, "I felt at times, as if he were my relation" and "I feel akin to him" adding to the argument that Jane sees in him a means of consummating the forbidden sexual desire for the father. Moreover, Mrs. Fairfax observes, "He might almost be your father" at which Jane protests, "No, indeed [. . .] he is nothing like my father!"” and Rochester himself once says to Jane that he is “old enough to be [her] father”. This way Jane is finally able to find her father in Rochester and so she not only falls in love in him but also accepts his proposal to marry him meaning that for her oedipal complex was finally going to be fulfilled.

But then enters Bertha Mason. When Jane witnesses the animalistic scene between Rochester and Bertha, she unconsciously knows that she would have to leave Rochester because she sees in Bertha her oedipal rival. Since Rochester is her ‘father figure’, Bertha being married to Rochester means that Bertha becomes Jane’s ‘mother figure’ which in turn implies that Bertha becomes an instant threat to Jane. As a result, Jane unconsciously knows that while Bertha was alive and married to Rochester, she will not be able to fulfill her oedipal complex and while being in the presence and constant threat of the ‘mother’, Jane deems it best to leave and that too immediately.